"Woohoo! My dear territory, I'm back!"
Lin Yu gazed at the familiar Lord's Mansion before him and let out an excited shout, venting his pent-up emotions.
He had done a lot during the 30-day rest period.
First, he spent 3,000 points to redeem three vials of Gene Optimization Potion from the service center.
The Gene Optimization Potion was developed by the Empire based on a restoration potion formula redeemed from the points mall by participating lords. It could be used to repair the genetic defects of the Empire's citizens, enhance their physical constitution, and increase their natural lifespan.
Lin Yu drank one vial himself, then flew back to Longhu City to make sure his parents drank theirs.
He wasn't sure about the full effects of the physical enhancement, but his parents' salt-and-pepper hair had turned black and their skin had grown fairer. The old couple exclaimed that they had regained their youth, then hastily shooed Lin Yu back to Cuiwei City.
After returning to Cuiwei City, Lin Yu spent a week visiting all the local tourist attractions and hitting up the various hot spots.
He then returned to the Lord's Contest Service Center and spent a few days spacing out with nothing to do.
With absolutely nothing else to do, Lin Yu went to the library to find some books about the Lord's Contest.
These books detailed the rules for each stage of the Lord's Contest, as well as all sorts of strange tales and anecdotes.
To the scions of wealthy families, this was all common knowledge, but to Lin Yu, who had always lived on a rural farm and hadn't even left the city for university, this information was a priceless treasure.
Therefore, until the second stage of the contest began, Lin Yu spent his time at the service center reading all sorts of books, absorbing knowledge and bettering himself. All in all, his days were quite fulfilling.
Lin Yu was overjoyed to be back in his territory.
Even though he had only spent 30 days there, he felt more at ease within his territory. It was no wonder those High-tier Lords hardly ever came out to have fun during the rest periods, choosing instead to hole up in their rooms and remotely command their territories.
Unlike new lords like him, who had just passed the first stage and couldn't remotely sense their Territory Cores, lords who passed the second stage could do just that, allowing them to command their territories from afar.
'I'm so jealous of them. But once I pass this second stage, I'll be able to connect to my Territory Core remotely, too!'
'Then I won't have to just space out from boredom!'
Lin Yu reveled in his daydreams of the future.
After a moment, Lin Yu snapped out of his daze and tapped his head.
'Damn it, spacing out has become a habit. That's not good!'
'First, I'll go take a look outside and get some fresh, natural air!'
With that, Lin Yu appeared at the crown of the World Tree.
The surrounding air was as soothing as ever. The trees had grown taller and larger, and a small green sprite hovered around each one. Upon seeing Lin Yu appear, they flickered with joy.
Herds of beasts roamed through the forest, and all sorts of different birds soared through the sky.
Gazing at everything before him—all of it his—Lin Yu smiled in satisfaction.
"Master!"
Suddenly, a somewhat deep voice called out from behind Lin Yu.
"Who's there?"
Lin Yu jumped in surprise. He spun around to see only a somewhat familiar black wolf standing behind him. There were no strangers in sight.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
Lin Yu demanded loudly.
"Master, it's me, Phantom."
Lin Yu looked toward the source of the voice. It was coming from the black wolf.
After looking again, and then a third time, it dawned on Lin Yu. He ran forward delightedly and threw his arms around the wolf.
"Phantom, you can talk now? And you've gotten taller and stronger, too."
"Master, I've been able to speak ever since I was promoted to a Hero a few years ago."
"That's amazing! How did you do it? I was just thinking about redeeming a Hero Promotion Scroll for you to make you the territory's first Hero!"
"I'm not sure myself. I just absorbed some of the natural energy in the air, and then when I had nothing better to do, I would sleep under the Divine Tree. I absorbed some of the energy overflowing from it, and I became a Hero."
"Divine Tree?" Lin Yu asked, confused.
"This tree, of course!"
"Oh? You mean the World Tree? You were promoted to a Hero just by absorbing its overflowing energy?"
'Hmm... That's perfectly reasonable!'
"Alright, stand still. Let me see your stats."
[Name]: Phantom (Hero)
[Race]: Wilderness Forest Wolf
[Grade]: Excellent (Blue)
[Level]: 13
[Attack]: 1950
[Speed]: 2130
[Defense]: 780
[HP]: 4500
[Skills]: Rapid Speed, Wind Blade, Wind Barrier
[Talents]: Gale Force, Lurk
[Rapid Speed]: Increases Speed by 50% and greatly enhances evasion. Duration: 10 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes.
[Wind Blade]: Unleashes a blade of wind with powerful attack force. Deals 9750 damage (Attack x 5). Cooldown: 30 seconds.
[Wind Barrier]: Creates a barrier of wind that completely evades 10 attacks. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
[Gale Force]: When using wind elements to increase speed, all attacks deal additional wind-element damage equal to the user's Speed stat.
[Lurk]: When motionless in shadows, enter a lurking state, reducing the chance of being discovered by 30%.
"Nice! So strong! To have stats like this at only level 13... as expected of my prized wolf!"
"You promoted to a Hero all on your own without any help from me. You're so self-sufficient! How about I go find you a pretty she-wolf for a mate?"
Lin Yu roared with laughter.
"Master, I already have a mate and several pups. Please don't let her hear you say that."
Phantom said, blinking.
Hearing this, Lin Yu laughed. "Alright, I'll owe you one, then! I'll give you a great gift once I've thought of something!"
"Has anyone else in the territory been promoted to Hero?"
"I don't think so, Master. Look, they all like to sleep under the Divine Tree now, but no other animals have become Heroes yet."
"Oh, by the way, Master, I want to show you something."
Phantom gestured for Lin Yu to climb onto his back.
Phantom then ran toward the other end of the treetop. His gait was so steady that Lin Yu felt no bumps at all.
A minute later, Phantom stopped and gestured for Lin Yu to look up.
Lin Yu did as instructed. Peering through the dense leaves, he saw an exquisite, gem-like green fruit hanging from a high branch.
"What is that?"
"Master, she is a sprite."
"A sprite? Aren't sprites those little green orbs?"
Lin Yu pointed to one of the sprites hovering around a nearby branch. "How did she end up like this?" he asked, puzzled.
"It's all my fault. She's a good friend of my mate. Ever since I broke through to the Hero tier, my mate has been bragging about it all over the place. When her friend heard, she wanted to become a Hero, too. So she started researching how to do it... and in the process, she turned into... this!"
"She researched herself into becoming... this? Incredible!"
In Lin Yu's experience, sprites just silently hovered around trees, producing natural energy. They worked diligently without complaint (not that Lin Yu could understand what they were saying, anyway).
He never knew sprites could conduct research—let alone research themselves into a completely different form.